Re-watched this one--still one of my favorite movies to come out this year.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012): 7/10

Very unnecessary, but so far as very unnecessary movies go, it wasn't bad. Giving it a full bonus point because of Emma Stone. <3

Battleship (2012): 4/10

Very loud. Some early comedic moments are fine, and the special effects are pretty great throughout--and I was pleasantly surprised at how the filmmakers actually made an attempt at capturing the essence of the board game on the big screen. Still, god, do movies have to be this loud? I've got a headache 3 miles wide and 7 miles deep thanks to this. Dumb movies are fine every now and again, but I think I'd get more pleasure out of listening to children bang pots and pans together while reading scripts from various bad films than I would out of watching this again.

When I evaluate a film, I never knock it because it wasn't something it was never trying to be. If it's a slapstick comedy, then I rate it based on how well it achieved it's goal of being exactly that. Tonight's entertainment was a great example. I grew up on 80s action flicks. Norris. Stallone. Van Damme. Arnold. Bruce. These guys were icons to me and I have some great memories from hitting the theater with my buds and being entertained thoroughly. They weren't films that were trying to be realistic or to be taken seriously. They were meant to purely entertain and, for the most part, these guys chose vehicles that allowed them to do that. So that brings me to The Expendables 2. This is the first film in a long time that ended up being EXACTLY what I thought it was going to be, and that's a good thing. I've heard some criticisms of this movie, most notably all the cheesy one-liners. All I will say is that if you weren't around in the 80s, you probably won't get it. This film stayed true to those 80s style action flicks and yeah, the one-liners were a BIG part of what made those movies fun. Expendables 2 paid homage to those films of 30 years ago, and they also had fun with it. That's not only what I expected, it's what I hoped for. And it's what was delivered. Kudos to all involved...I can't wait for the next one!!

I like these two movies as well.....like you, I knew what to expect and I was not disappointed.

I really think that point gets overlooked at times. There's still no guarantee that everyone will love the film as much as we did, of course, but when I see someone talk about how the action was over the top, or how the one liners were a cheesy, or whatever....come on, they HAVE to know what kind of movie it is they're going to see. When has ANY stallone film not had cheesy one liners? When has an Arnold film not had poor acting? When has a Bruce Willis film not have over the top action scenes? If you go into a film like this expecting Saving Private Ryan, you're just setting yourself up for disappointment lol. This movie is NOT to be taken seriously, and the "cheese" is part of what makes it fun! That's what 80s action star films were all about for gosh sakes.

I thought it gave me everything I could have possibly wanted and I had a blast with it. Sounds like you did too :)

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Arnie was a bit rusty, but Dolph and Van Damme were particularly good!

You know what is funny about this post.....

I actually watched half of "Universal Soldier 2" 2 nights ago. The first half was entertaining in a kind of comical-did-we-really-used-to-make-movies-like-this? kind of way. Was expecting more impressive moves from van damme but he wasn't as cool as I remember him as a kid.